ForeFront

Issue Number 5 | Summer 2006

Saving through
the workplace
The key message from Unions 21 / IPA pensions seminar director for employment at the EEF agreed that the new
on 18 July was that employers, trade unions and pension proposals are simplified and more generous, fairer to women
fund trustees need to encourage greater openness and and carers and supported the Government’s approach to a
involvement in order to protect existing retirement gradual increase in the retirement age.
savings and develop effective governance structures for
the future. It is often said that “pensions are sold, not bought” and the
workplace is the best place to ensure retirement saving is
As life expectancy increases, people need to take ever greater simple and effective. Speaking for the National Associations
care of their long- term financial security. Falling investment of Pension Funds, Ken MacIntyre recommended that
returns, the burden of regulation and actuarial caution continued...
have all also contributed to the flight from defined benefit
to defined contribution or money purchase schemes. The
challenge, discussed at a recent workshop organised by
Unions 21 and the Involvement and Participation Association
(IPA), was how to involve existing scheme members more
effectively in the management of their schemes and restore
confidence in retirement savings.
In the UK the basic state pension is one of the least expensive
and least generous systems in the more developed world.
Successive governments have justified this on the basis
that individual savings made through occupational or
personal pensions would make up the difference, ensuring
that pensioners did not face retiring into poverty. The first
report of the Pension Commission, led by Adair Turner
demonstrated that this assumption was not only wrong,
but that private savings were actually in decline. The second
report, not only confirmed this and found that the problem
was likely to get worse.

The role of the workplace

Delegates representing employers and trade unions heard
how the workplace must play a critical role in restoring
confidence in the pension system. This is a challenge taken
up in the Government’s White Paper on pension reform,
which includes proposals for the automatic enrolment
of employees and minimum employer and employee
contributions. EEF, the manufacturer’s organisation, offered
its general support to the proposals. David Yeandle, deputy Fiona Draper, Prospect’s Pensions Officer, speaking at the Unions 21/IPA pensions seminar

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 occupational pensions provided collectively through the
workplace should be seen as the principle mechanism for
collecting employer and employee contributions, rather
than via externally provided personal pensions. Likewise he
suggested that a simpler structure would be better served
by a small number of multi-employer ‘super-trusts’ rather
than the myriad of providers that currently offer personal
pensions.
Governance structures
Until now much of the public debate about pensions
has been characterised by the closure of defined benefit
schemes to new members and their replacement by
defined contribution schemes. While the current agenda
tends to be focused on protecting existing members of
defined benefit schemes, any replacement is likely to be
significantly inferior to the incumbent arrangement. In
addition, the short-term benefit of closing defined benefit
schemes to new members may create long-term funding
consequences for employers as these schemes mature.
While the members of defined benefit schemes are to
some extent protected by the triangular relationship
between trustees, the employer, and the beneficiaries, such
governance structures do not exist for members of defined
contribution schemes. Terry Robinson, human resources
director at Eurotunnel suggested that employees have a
fundamental interest in being consulted about these issues
as in the future they will share an increasing amount of the
risk to their investments and need to be involved in issues
such as the level of contributions, the choice of corporate
fund provider and the performance of investments.
Unions 21 at Compass conference
Unions 21 had a packed fringe meeting at the multi-issue event organised by the democratic left pressure group Compass. The subject for
Unions 21 fringe: ‘Changing priorities in the world of work.’
 
This is also consistent with the new Occupational and
Personal Pension Scheme (Consultation by Employers)
Regulations, which came into effect on 6 April 2006 and
mean that members will have a more important say in the
way in which these schemes are administered. In addition,
the government is considering extending the right for trade
unions to negotiate on pensions as part of the statutory
recognition procedure.
Workplace dialogue
A statutory responsibility to negotiate on pensions is
something with which the EEF expressed severe concern,
however Ben Marshall, head of industrial relations at
Connect sees a key role for trade union negotiators on
this topic. “Pensions are too big an issue to leave up to the
specialists,” says Marshall. “The first task is communication
about what is planned, and the second is to ensure that the
issues are recognised as just another collective bargaining
challenge”, he adds.
Ken MacIntyre at the NAPF called for “a general and
societal trend towards more openness and participation”
in the governance of private sector pensions. He and
others argued that people at work should be demanding
more information about their workplace pensions and
involvement in how they are run. The NAPF in partnership
with the EEF and trade unions has won government
backing for a new, free and independent service, called
‘PensionsForce’ to provide pensions information in the
workplace. For more information visit: http://www.napf.
co.uk/PensionsForce/index.cfm
Agenda for Change
and still more change
by Lesley Mercer, Head of Employment Relations CSP
Representing Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP)
members’ interests in the health sector has always been a
rewarding challenge, but over the last five years the pace of
change has been frenetic and demands on union services
are greater than they have ever been.
To set this in context, the NHS is currently in the middle of the
most fundamental and fast paced service reforms attempted
since its inception. At the same time it is also implementing
‘Agenda for Change’ the umbrella name for a package of radical
reforms to pay, grading and conditions of service for the entire
NHS workforce, which includes a significant number of CSP
members.
Added into this are member concerns about regional pay,
consultation and union negotiation over changes to the NHS
pension scheme; a high profile equality agenda; campaigning
on recruitment and retention issues; and ensuring that members
in the independent sector are recruited and represented, CSP
stewards and officers have had to adapt quickly to successfully
meet the expectations and needs of members.
The Agenda for Change deal offers - amongst other things - a
much improved career structure, increased annual leave and a
right to supported development. Early on it was recognised
that developing the existing network of stewards and provid-
ing comprehensive briefings, support and training was crucial if
members were going to receive the help and information they
needed during implementation of Agenda for Change in local
workplaces.
One of the most fundamental achievements of Agenda for
In this issue
Following our spring conference and building on the
theme “What’s new? What works? Modern unions and
life at work”, in this issue we start to think further about
union responses to the changing world of work.
We feature contributions from four unions spanning dif-
ferent parts of the public and private sectors, each facing
different challenges and priorities. We also take a look at an
innovative project piloted by the North West Regional TUC
to organise Polish migrant workers.
Change is the successful partnership working developed be-
tween unions and employers at all levels of the NHS. One of the
main aims of the CSP and other unions is to embed and build
on the principles and process of partnership working, so that
we and our members are involved in key decisions on a broader
range of issues such as service development and change.
CSP is able to quickly communicate with members and repre-
sentatives, and channels of communication have recently been
improved with the establishment of web-based interaction
networks, significantly speeding up our ability both to commu-
nicate important messages to the membership and to receive
their feedback.
But we are facing up to some critical issues in managing change:
NHS deficits, frozen and cut posts, threatened redundancies and
closed services. The CSP is actively campaigning at national and
local level against proposed structural change. Recently we
helped to prevent closure of a community hospital in Cumbria.
The short term focus is lobbying government to slow down
the pace of NHS reform and to work in partnership with unions
and NHS staff to allow those working in the service to shape
and take ownership of NHS Modernisation. Other key issues
are improving employment opportunities for newly qualified
physiotherapists and supporting members in the workplace on
a range of initiatives being introduced that affect established
working practices.
In the longer term we will be working with government, NHS
employers and other health service unions to ensure that the
NHS values it staff. Good employment practice such as enabling
a work life balance, supported skill and career development and
fair national pay will be key negotiating aims of the future.
In addition we report on a recent Unions 21 seminar on
“Whatever happened to recognition?” and an event, run in
partnership with the Involvement and Participation As-
sociation (IPA) on “New pension consultation regulations:
Broadening the bargaining agenda?”
Last but not least, we also include details of our fringe meet-
ings at the TUC and Labour Party Conferences.

Recognition: the beginning
not the end
Report by Matt Ball, Acting Director of Unions 21
“Whatever happened to recognition?” was the question
asked of the union activists, academics and union officers
who gathered in Congress House on 12 July.
Six years after gaining union rights to statutory recognition, over
1,000 agreements have been signed covering more than 310,000
employees. Only 61 agreements were signed last year but the
number of campaigns for recognition is on the increase. This
Unions 21 seminar looked at the current trends in union recogni-
tion and heard the experiences of representatives from across the
movement.
The 1999 Employment Relations Act changed the climate of
industrial relations, saw an initial surge in trade union recognition
and has affected the way trade unions work towards recognition.
Clare Ruhemann from the Labour Research Department suggest-
ed that before the law was introduced, direct approaches could
be made to the employers by trade unions pursuing recognition
but that the focus now was on a bottom-up strategy that focused
on organising and recruitment of members.
Mary Bousted, ATL’s General Secretary, described her union’s
unique experience in gaining recognition in the independent
school sector. The particular culture and environment in inde-
pendent schools – where the teachers often live as well as work
– obliged ATL to work closely on building up an activist base that
was needed to win and work with recognition.
ATL secured a hard won recognition deal at a private school in
the South West, that went all the way to the Central Arbitration
Committee (CAC), before ultimately revealing the positive effects
of trade union recognition. Prior to the agreement the union
had been devoting a lot of officer time to resolving issues at the
school due to a poor employment culture and bad practices.
Recognition changed all this, and both the members and the
 
employer noticed the positive role of the union. Recognition
is only a starting point though. It should open up the door to
drawing up learning agreements, introducing health & safety
representatives and to the union playing such a significant role
in the workplace that it “makes it hard for the employer to work
without the union”.
Alan Leighton, National Secretary at Prospect, continued this
theme – noting that “it’s easier to defend recognition if the
employer sees the benefit.” But he was under no illusion of what
it takes to get to that stage as he spoke about the challenges of
overturning de-recognition at the National Maritime Museum.
As well as a strong membership base, one of the key factors to
securing recognition is identifying the right issues to campaign
around – recognition in itself is not an end sufficient enough to
galvanise the membership or persuade employers of its value. In
some campaigns, Prospect had made strategic use of personal
cases. A campaign has to be focused, well-resourced and able to
respond quickly, which, in Leighton’s experience, is easier where
it is just a single-union campaign. It also depends on commit-
ted and effective union representatives in the workplace, which
means the union has to provide appropriate training for activists.
Mark Sandell from UCU agreed that workplace reps were vital
to a successful campaign and was of the view that they should
guide the campaign and be a visible champion for the union in
the workplace. As an organiser for both NATFHE and previously
at the GPMU, he had broad experience of the tactics used by
unscrupulous employers in fighting against recognition – chang-
ing the bargaining group, enforcing ballots then bombarding the
workforce with anti-union propaganda and delaying the proce-
dure at every turn.
Christine Hardacre, Head of Organising at Community, is all too
From left: Alan Leighton (Prospect),
Mary Bousted (ATL), John Lloyd (Unions21)
and Clare Ruhemann (LRD)
familiar with many of these union-
busting methods – even coming up
against a managing director with a
ance procedures. Tony Burke described
the problems the GPMU and now
Amicus have with the CAC procedure
PhD on “exterminating” trade unions! and emphasised how voluntary rec-
She had welcomed the legislation as ognition is far better than the default
a way to sort out some unfinished statutory recognition that is awarded.
business following de-recognition in He believes that the procedure could
the 80s and 90s. Now, unions have to be greatly simplified - for example
be sophisticated in winning for their where unions can prove that they have
members and recognise the limits of 50%+1 members at a workplace, this
pursuing recognition as an end in itself. should be sufficient on its own to se-
Alan Leighton, Prospect National Secretary
cure recognition. The legislation should
Community’s current campaign in Lad-
also be extended to cover workplaces
brokes was just such an example. The
with less than 20 employees. Mark San-
nature of the betting industry means
dell suggested the problems unions
that formal recognition is a long way
faced through the CAC procedure are
down the line. Community has had
just a small demonstration of a wider
to find other ways of getting ‘leverage’
need for greater trade union rights
over the employer. Successes had
and that tinkering with the CAC rules
been achieved by working with exter-
would be like “solving the housing
nal partners – such as the Metropolitan
crisis by looking at cardboard boxes.”
Police on safety. Members needed to
see that “everywhere the employer There has been a significant “shadow
goes, we go too.” effect” from the legislation, which has
Alan Leighton and Tony Burke, Am-
led to many more voluntary recogni- Mark Sandell, UCU Branch Organiser and Christine
tion agreements being signed. Mary Hardacre, Community’s Head of Organising
icus Assistant General Secretary, both
Bousted commented that “one formal
talked about the existing legislative
victory at the CAC stimulates voluntary
powers that are available to unions,
action”. All the speakers had agreed
such as the Information & Consultation
that gaining union recognition in the
Regulations, that could be used as a
workplace should just be seen as a
stepping-stone to recognition. I&C can
starting point and that it should be far
put unions face-to-face with anti-union
more than just a piece of paper.
employers or provide information
about their operations. After recognition, unions needed to
continue to train and support their
Leighton was particularly interested
workplace reps, to maintain and build
in how consultation could be turned
membership and to engage with the
into negotiation. Mary Bousted also
referred to an “incremental approach”
employer. Unions should not be com- Tony Burke, Amicus Deputy General Secretary
placent having gained recognition but
to building towards recognition, where
they clearly have a good story – they
the union gets through the door using
need to go out and tell it.
existing rights such as I&C or the griev-
 Changing union
priorities in the
retail sector
by John Hannett, General Secretary USDAW
As the world of work changes, so must our priorities.
Usdaw is deeply rooted in the retail sector. The retail
workforce is overwhelmingly female, predominantly
low-paid, often part-time in lower graded jobs, usually
undervalued, often lacking in influence - let alone con-
trol, with hours, duties and even places of work often
varied unilaterally by managers.
Workers are highly dispersed geographically across hun-
dreds or thousands of sites, on complex shift systems, 24/7
and with a high turnover. They are difficult to meet, let alone
recruit, retain and organise. The industrial ‘muscle’ tradition-
ally associated with full-time, permanent workforces and the
‘factory gate’ model for recruitment, just don’t apply. There’s
no easy access, no trade union tradition and no ‘community’
of interests around the traditional pit head, the foundry or
the dockside.
So there’s a major challenge for modern trade union organi-
sation. Usdaw has addressed this by placing emphasis on
skilled reasoning and advocacy, evidence-based submis-
sions, and ensuring that members experiences, priorities
and needs guide our work.
We are now increasingly focusing our efforts on ‘quality of
work’ issues, beyond the pay packet. For the worker that
means having their voice and experiences clearly heard, the
capacity to influence events, better balance between work
and family responsibilities, and emphasis on mutual respect
and dignity at work. We recognise that the poverty of low
paid employment extends beyond the pay packet alone.
The quality at work agenda also benefits employers, boost-
ing recruitment, reducing labour turnover and ensuring
the retention of experienced, valuable employees. ‘Winning
the loyalty of staff’ is the new buzz phrase in big business
retailing, not because they’re generous people at heart, but
because their own people represent the last great ‘frontier’.
Big business retailing has colonised everything else. Trading
is 24/7 and intense competition has driven out thousands
of small and medium-sized retailers. Winning the hearts and
minds of staff is the next challenge ahead. So, for a power-
 
ful combination of reasons, ‘quality of work’ issues are up for
grabs and we have some very fertile ground opening up
before us.
Our Parents and Carers’ Campaign is a great example. By lis-
tening to our members and their experiences, the campaign
was a tremendous success and as a result, in the last year,
we’ve secured genuine improvements to our agreements,
benefiting half of all our women members and more than
a third of our men. More than that, 40% of all our mem-
bers stand to benefit from improvements to maternity and
paternity pay, and over a third are covered by more flexible
approaches to working time.
During the course of our campaign, we realised that many
members didn’t know we were there to support them on
these issues. They thought we were just about pay bargain-
ing and representation. So there’s a rich seam here, not just
amongst employers, but amongst members and potential
members too.
In organising terms, we’ve tried to reap the dividend too.
We now have a growing body of reps more aware and confi-
dent about our role in tackling parents and carers issues
- who see the union’s role in a new light. And a series of em-
ployers for whom a growing raft of parents and carers’ rights
are a major technical and even a cultural challenge.
And that challenge is one for us all. For many of us the
‘quality of work’ intrinsically may be in decline: conven-
tional, skilled, craft occupations - full-time, permanent and
well paid - are disappearing, replaced by part-time, often
casualised jobs - insecure and relatively low-paid. Usdaw has
been in that place for generations and we have risen to the
challenge. A place where few people live to work and most
simply work to live.
Our agenda is to reclaim flexibility for working people.
There’s no doubt current Government policy around both
full employment and family-friendly rights has helped tip
the balance. But I’m in no doubt either that it’s trade union
and collective influence that will really secure and ground
those gains.
Challenges of
global markets
by Adrian Askew, General Secretary Connect
Globalisation gives multinationals the power to improve
the lives of workers worldwide. As trade unionists we
have the responsibility to make sure they do so.
There’s nothing new about globalisation. Today’s manufac-
turing industry is already truly global in nature. The spread
of industrial technology around the world, combined with
fast transport links has revolutionised the industry. Today the
spread of both technology and knowledge, combined with
ever faster communication links, means that the service sec-
tor is now facing similar challenges.
We must make globalisation work for both our members
here in the UK and workers in developing countries, for
whom investment by multinationals could offer a step out
of poverty. Some unions have long supported a progres-
sive stance on the offshoring of work, looking to protect
our members’ careers, whilst also ensuring that employers
treat their workers well, wherever they are. The hope: that
good employment practices and higher wages trickle down
into the wider economies of developing countries, raising
standards worldwide.
Sadly, it would appear that this trickle down effect isn’t hap-
pening on its own. The regions which have seen significant
service sector investment are now typified by societies of
stark contrast. Down one street, modern offices, with the lat-
est technology and wages which, whilst still low in UK terms,
far outstrip anything that can be earned elsewhere in the
local economy. Just a short distance away, people continue
to toil in dangerous workplaces for a pittance.
Even for those working for multinationals everything isn’t
Trade Union Organising
in the New Europe
by Alan Manning, Regional Secretary North West TUC
The TUC in the North West recognised the growing
importance that migrant workers have for the regional
economy. Workers from Poland were by far the single
largest group. We wanted to improve our understand-
rosy. People are often working under conditions that,
whilst claimed to be in line with ILO core labour standards,
would still not be acceptable to comparable workers in this
country. All too often, labour turnover in these workplaces is
high, with employees burning-out from long hours and high
pressure.
So what can we, as progressive trade unionists, do to
improve the situation? Many of the companies investing
money in offshore operations are UK employers – some of
them good employers who treat their staff in this coun-
try well. Whether offshore workers are employed directly
or through a local company, big business should not be
allowed to escape its responsibilities for the people who,
ultimately, make the profits.
We can use our influence to encourage employers to behave
as well abroad as they do here – and to ensure that the
benefits aren’t just seen by a small elite but are spread more
widely. That means agreeing to follow the Ethical Trading
Initiative’s Base Code of Practice by ensuring a living wage is
paid throughout the supply chain and that everyone work-
ing in that supply chain has the right to join and be repre-
sented by a union. It also means ensuring that a fair propor-
tion of profits are contributed to local health, education and
housing projects.
However, by far the best way of tackling these issues is
through independent trade unions, working together on
a global scale. By giving local unions the assistance they
need to organise, and by building networks of unions across
the globe, we can make life better for everyone, north or
south, rich or poor. If we are going to take on multinational
companies then we’re going to need unions that can think
internationally too.
ing of the employment and community issues affecting
them, and to test appropriate and effective trade union
responses.
In preparation we did some general desk based research
on regional labour market issues. However it soon became
continued...
 continued...
clear that the available data was limited. The Workers Reg-
istration Scheme provided a partial picture, but other data
sets were insufficiently timely to be sensitive to the relatively Fringe
Meetings
recent movements of workers from new EU member states.

We also sought contacts with existing Polish community

organisations in the North West. Web-based research yielded
some initial information, but we also contacted the Federa-
tion of Poles in Great Britain - the main national umbrella
organisation in the UK – and made links with a number of TUC – Who’s Afraid of
Churches serving the Polish Community and with a lan-
guage-based project in Liverpool that offered support to
Globalisation?
newly arrived workers from Poland. Monday 11 September at lunchtime in the Grand Hotel,
Brighton
A number of key unions in the region provided us with
information on where Polish migrant workers were being The latest attempt at international trade talks collapsed
employed. This confirmed that logistics and road haulage, during the summer and globalisation continues apace.
foundries and engineering, food processing and construction Unions 21 is looking at the trade union response to
were key sectors in the region for Polish workers. At the same globalisation and examining its effects on the UK and
time, with support from the TUC nationally, we contacted further afield.
Solidarnosc in Poland for information and advice and to
discuss the possible secondment of a Polish trade union Speakers include: Ian McCartney MP, Trade Minister, and
organiser. Frances O’Grady, Deputy General Secretary TUC.
Agreement was very quickly reached with Solidarnosc on the
secondment of a young national organiser who was leading TUC – What are we here for?
their campaign to organise Tesco in Poland and who had Tuesday 12 September at lunchtime in the Grand Hotel,
a lot of contact already with UK unions. Tomasz Laskowski
Brighton
worked with us for a very intensive three month period on
community initiatives and specific campaigns with individual
unions. The famous question asked of Congress by its General
Secretary George Woodcock is as pertinent now as it was
Informal employment rights sessions were held which,
in the 60s. As the movement heads further into the 21st
together with more structured surveys of the workers con-
cerned, showed that deductions from wages, accommoda- Century Unions 21 is asking leading trade unionists to
tion, payments to agencies, and a general lack of understand- give their opinions of today and their visions of the future.
ing of workers’ rights in the UK were common problems. In
the light of this, a Polish language version of the TUC’s “Rights Speakers include: Jeremy Dear, NUJ General Secretary;
at Work” was published as an insert to Kontakt, a weekly Debbie Coulter, GMB Deputy General Secretary; and
magazine for the Polish Community in the North West.
Jonathan Baume, FDA General Secretary.
Tomasz’s input also added significantly to unions’ organising
work. This was especially fruitful in companies with an es-
tablished relationship with unions but experiencing recruit- Labour Party – Alas Poor
ment difficulties and turning to recruit skilled Polish workers.
Language barriers were overcome and Tomasz was also able
Warwick
Wednesday 27 September at lunchtime in Room 2,
to reassure the workers that the information required on a
union application form was confidential to the union! Unison Marquee (in the secure zone, pass required)

An overall achievement was to give workers from new mem-
ber states confidence in their rights. It became obvious that
this could not be dissociated from language issues. We have
concluded that supporting unions in recruiting and training
workplace reps from within those communities of migrant
workers will be key to extending unionisation and combat-
ing exploitation. The recruitment by the TGWU of a Polish
driver as one of their new organisers is an excellent example.
We can also do more work to develop protocols with other
trade union centres to ensure a two-way flow of information
and intelligence to support and promote best practice and
to resolutely oppose exploitation and abuse that regrettably
is all too often the experience of workers from other coun-
tries.
The Warwick Agreement was heralded as a new approach
to the party-union relationship. Unions 21 is delving
into what has happened since it was signed, discussing
the prospects for a ‘Warwick 2’ and finding out the
implications for the wider trade union movement.
Speakers include: Billy Hayes, CWU General Secretary and
Sally Hunt, UCU Joint General Secretary.
Look out for the flyers or visit our
website for full details of these events.